Running Home
by Hediru
Summary: In Pete's world, the Doctor is dying. Rose is practically immortal. Meanwhile, in the Prime Universe, the Doctor and Clara travel through time and space, broken and together, but still very much alone. Then an accidental crash through the Void changes everything. Takes place after the events of Season 8 and may include spoilers. 12 x Rose reunion. Also light Danny x Clara.
1. Running Out of Time

**I know, I know. I have too many WIP to start another one. But this plot bunny won't leave me alone! Besides, we need more 12 x Rose in our lives! Sorry for the angst in this first chapter. It's a painful story, but a necessary one, as you will soon see.**

**I do not own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 1

"Did you see the look on her face?!" Rose Tyler howled, clutching her side as she collapsed on the floor of the TARDIS and erupted with laughter.

"I know!" Her husband, the Doctor, replied, also howling with laughter. Tears were streaming from his eyes. "Oh, Blimey! We haven't had a good run like that since... since..."

"Since yesterday, I do believe!" Rose teased back. "Or was that last week? It's getting hard to keep track of these things."

The baby TARDIS that they had diligently been growing for the last 50 years was finally fully grown, and the not-so-young-anymore couple's wanderlust had them heading for the stars like there was no tomorrow. They had just had an encounter with an unusual rat like creature called the Snorfulung: a creature from a planet that apparently only existed in Pete's World. The Doctor had been thrilled to discover a new species, and the "her" that Rose had referred to was a little old lady in Cardiff who was shocked to learn that her "pets" were from another planet and were intent on world domination. The Doctor was disappointed and disgusted to learn that they were as easily disposed of as Earth rats. The woman, on the other hand was not pleased at all.

"For the last time, Doctor. Stop referring to the Exterminator as a Dalek!" Rose scolded, even though she secretly agreed with him.

The Doctor just grinned at her, the twinkle in his eye undimmed by the passing years. Unfortunately, that was the only thing about him that time had not touched. His freckled skin now bore the wrinkles of old age. His formerly gorgeous dark brown hair had passed the salt and pepper stage awhile ago. His walk was a little slower, his posture stooped a little lower, and he found that he hurt in places that he didn't even know that he'd had. But that manic grin that made his wife (and countless other women) go weak in the knees was constantly on his face: a testament to the joy he had found living his one life with Rose Tyler.

His wife, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Her skin was still as young and fresh as it was when she was 19. Her hair may have still been dyed blonde, but it seemed highly unlikely that her natural hair color even had a single silver hair. The Bad Wolf, that goddess of time that temporarily took up residence in her body when she looked into the heart of the original TARDIS many years ago, had given her an unexpected gift (or was it a curse?): Rose Tyler did not age. Nor could she die. Even the worst injuries healed in the blink of an eye without any medical assistance. Not even the Doctor's sonic could heal her that quickly. She had found the fountain of youth. To some, she was a miracle. To others, she was a freak.

It was the Doctor who had first made this discovery. Time had passed so slowly, that no one noticed at first that Rose had never changed. But when the Doctor realized on their tenth wedding anniversary that he wasn't getting any younger, he realized that Rose had not changed one bit in those ten years. Lots of husbands can say that about their wives. Love has a tendency to make one blind to flaws. But upon comparison of photographs from years gone by to ones taken more recently, there was no denying the truth: Rose was not aging. Several sonic scans and extensive tests at the Torchwood labs later confirmed his suspicions. Physically, Rose was exactly 19 years, 11 months, 12 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 10 seconds old: the precise moment she looked into the TARDIS and went to the rescue of his Ninth self and Captain Jack Harkness on the Gamestation.

As the years went by, only those closest to the couple knew the truth. To the rest of the world, Rose Tyler gradually became a recluse and never left her home, sending her daughter, and eventually her granddaughter out with her husband in her place. In reality, the couple had had no children, for the same force that kept her young also apparently made her biologically incompatible with her part Time Lord, part human husband.

These revelations did not dampen the love or the spirits of the happiest couple in all of time and space: in fact, it drew them closer than ever before. When the baby TARDIS finally reached maturity on their golden anniversary, she only just enhanced their life partnership. They were forever and always, the Doctor and Rose Tyler: companions, best friends, lovers, bond-mates, husband and wife, Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake - the stuff of legends!

But as the Bad Wolf had once warned in her Oracle on the Gamestation, "All things must come to an end. All things must die."

* * *

"Doctor Tyler, your test results have come back," came the voice over the phone. "I'm afraid it's not good. You need to come in. Bring someone you trust with you."

The Doctor had not been feeling well for some time. Cursing the biological limitations of his one hearted human body, he pressed on, ignoring what his body had been trying to tell him. He did not want to admit that he was growing old and weak. He did not want to let his eternally young and vivacious wife down. So he ignored the growing pain in his abdomen, telling his wife, "I'm always alright," whenever she caught him wincing in pain. She, of course, saw straight through that lie, and she worried. But until he admitted that there was something wrong, there was nothing that she could do. That is, until the day the TARDIS jostled at just the right tempo that he lost his footing and fell to the floor on his stomach. The searing pain that tore through him in that moment made him cry out in pain. Alarmed, Rose ran to his side and gasped as she felt a mass under his fingertips where his impossibly flat stomach used to be.

"Doctor Tyler, I'm afraid you have cancer. The tumor is in your stomach and has grown impossibly large and the cancer has spread. I'm afraid that there is nothing we can do. I give you a year at most. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Cancer. One year at most. The Doctor squinted at his own time line, something he had never dared to do before. It was short. Impossibly short. No, he reasoned, he didn't even have that long. Beside him in the car, Rose sniffled and struggled and failed to bite back the tears. They had promised each other forever. Forever, it seemed, was coming to an end.

The Doctor looked over at Rose and his single heart broke. Back when he and the full Time Lord had been one and the same, he was afraid of getting to close to her because she would eventually grow old and die and he would have to live on without her, alone. Now with this twist of fate, the reality of the situation came crashing down upon him like a ton of bricks. _She_ was going to have to live on without _him_! And worse, she would be alone.

As they laid in bed together that night, and held each other close, the Doctor made himself a solemn vow. He knew what it was like to live for centuries and watch everyone close to you grow old and die while you remained unchanged. "The curse of the Time Lords" he had called it. He wouldn't wish that fate on a bloody Dalek. He vowed right then and there that this curse would not befall his beloved Rose. He began to cobble together a plan: a plan so brilliant that it might not only help Rose, but it might lift the curse of a certain full Time Lord as well. There was only one problem: did he have enough time left to pull it off?


	2. Running Into Trouble

**If you've ever followed any of my other stories, you know that I am notorious for starting out strong and then losing the plot. I'm determined that this will not happen here. Because unlike my other works, I actually have an ending in mind. So you might get multiple chapters in one day!**

**I don't own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 2

Rose ran. She wasn't proud of it, but she did what she had to do. Her husband, the Doctor, the Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, was dying. Was he currently being upgraded into a Cyberman? No. Was he exterminated by a Dalek? No. Was he struck down in battle against an invading Sontaran army? No. It was cancer. Bloody cancer! It was an enemy that not even the Doctor could defeat. It was so unfair! So she ran. She was so ashamed of her cowardice, but it was like she was driven by an unseen force. That night, after she was sure that her husband was asleep, she snuck out of the house, climbed into the TARDIS and punched in the dematerialization sequence as he'd taught her. Once she was in the safety of the time vortex, she cried like she had never cried before. The Baby Girl, as they called their magnificent young time ship, slowly rocked her in sympathy.

She had only meant to be gone for a few hours and be back at his side in the morning, but so great was her compulsion to run, that she lost complete track of the passage of time. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Before she knew it, centuries had blazed by. Still, she kept running. She wasn't completely alone, however. She picked up companions of her own along the way, and together, they saved the universe multiple times. But, one by one, each of these companions left her, or they were lost to the ravages of time. Finally, she realized that the time had come for her to stop running. So she landed the Baby Girl softly in the back yard of the house she had shared with the Doctor, barely minutes after she had left, cursing herself for what she had done, and praying that he'd never know of her cowardice and betrayal. Quietly, she slipped under the covers next to him and cried herself to sleep.

The Doctor, however, was awake. Through his bond with the TARDIS and with his wife, he was aware of what had just transpired. Realizing that she had been gone for who knows how long and that she was most likely alone during that time, he made a second vow. He'd never speak of this to her. He also doubled his resolve to return her to his fully Time Lord self as soon as possible. Taking her protectively in his arms, he too cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Clara Oswald sat cross-legged on the floor of the TARDIS, watching the Doctor work, his thick brows furrowed in concentration. He was tinkering, as was usual. It seemed that the Old Girl was always in need of repairs. Or, she mused, it was a kind of therapy for the old Time Lord. She envied him this. She knew she was in desperate need of therapy herself.

Recent events had taken a heavy toll on the young woman, and it showed. Where once she would smile and chatter away for hours about anything and everything as the brooding Time Lord worked in silence, now she found herself as silent and brooding as the old man. If he'd noticed this change in her, he wisely made no comment to this effect as he only understood too well what had brought about the change in her. Sorrow. Immense sorrow and heart break over forever losing someone you love. Clara's list of losses was short but weighed heavily on her soul: Danny Pink. The Doctor's list was endless: so many people that he had cared for and lost. But at the top of his list was one name, one name so precious to him that he couldn't even bring himself to utter her name aloud: Rose Tyler.

Suddenly, the TARDIS began to rattle and shake and buck about like she hadn't done since they went to Trenzalore while he was still his Eleventh self. Sparks flew from the console. Wherever they were going, she absolutely did not like it!

"Doctor!" Clara cried. "What's happening?"

"I don't know! It's like something's got hold of her! I can't get her under control! Grab hold of something! This is going to be a bumpy ride!"

"_Going_ to be?!" Clara yelled, with more than just a trace of sarcasm.

They bucked about some more before landing extremely hard and with a loud _CRASH_! The lights of the console flickered once and then blinked out completely. In the pitch darkness that followed, a faint, glowing green light emitting from under the console was all that remained of the TARDIS' s power. The Doctor swallowed. He had seen this happen only once before. He hoped his instincts were wrong. After checking on Clara and ensuring that she was alright, he bravely opened the TARDIS door and beheld... zeppelins. Bloody zeppelins. His instinct was proven to be correct. He was once again in the universe that he had once dubbed "Pete's World". Whether or not the aforementioned Pete was here, he really didn't care. There was only one person here that he ever hoped, and yet dreaded to see: Rose.

As the two citizens of the Prime Universe stood squinting in the sun, that was when he saw her, walking over the hill, hand in hand with what appeared to be an old man. She stopped when she saw the TARDIS. Then she locked eyes with the Doctor.

* * *

It was him. It was bloody him! He had regenerated, that much was obvious, but one look into his eyes, and there was no doubt. It was him. Why him?! Why now?! Without moving her head, she glanced over at her husband. Did he have something to do with this? He turned his head to face her, apology in his eyes. Yes, he did, the bloody git.

The fully Time Lord Doctor took note of this exchange and his eyes widened in shock. That was no old man! That was (he gulped) _him!_ The other him! His meta crisis self who got to have the forever with_ his_ Rose! But, he looked so... So, _old!_ Granted, he was a fine one to talk. But what happened to him? And Rose- beautiful, brilliant, perfect Rose: she didn't look like she'd aged a day. Something was definitely wrong here.

Clara watched the exchange between the couple that had just arrived, and then watched her Doctor's face: he knew them! And from the look on his face, he was not pleased to seem them, either. Still, they seemed harmless enough.

"Doctor? When and where are we?" She queried. "And who are they?" She continued, pointing to the human Doctor and Rose.

Her Doctor cleared his throat. "Clara Oswald, may I introduce you to..." here his voice trailed off, as if he was unsure of what to say.

Rose spoke up first, offering her hand to Clara. "I'm Rose Tyler. And this is my husband... also known as the Doctor."

Clara gasped and looked at her Doctor. "It's true, Clara. He's me. Or he was me at one time. It's a very long story. We have crashed into an alternate universe, which is why the TARDIS is not functioning. What I don't know, is how we ended up here."

"Oh! Sorry! That was me!" The human Doctor called out, manic grin plastered on his face, his hand extended in a wave. "I might have created a homing device that locked onto your TARDIS in order to bring you here."

Rose just glared at her husband. What was he thinking?!

But the look the Time Lord gave him was much worse. "You did what?! Why would you do that?!"

"I'm dying," he blurted out. "I need you to take care of Rose."


	3. Running In Circles

**When the muse strikes, it strikes! I'm glad you're enjoying this so far!**

**Nope. I still don't own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 3

_"I'm dying. I need you to take care of Rose."_

The voice of the Doctor's duplicate took a second to register in the Time Lord's mind. He suddenly found that he was unable to form a coherent sentence. "What? How?"

"I have cancer," his duplicate continued. "I don't have much time."

Clara, sensing that she was suddenly witnessing a moment that really should be private spoke up quickly. "Doctor? I see a pub over there. I'm going to go and get something to eat." She then left as the Time Lord barely nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Rose found that she wanted to run again. No, no, no! This was not happening! But she couldn't run. So she did what anyone would do when trapped. She got angry. "HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed at her husband. "HERE YOU GO AGAIN, MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT MY LIFE FOR ME! I MEAN, HOW DARE YOU! BOTH OF YOU! PAWNING ME OFF ON THE OTHER LIKE I'M SOME BAD LUCK CHARM! LEAVING ME ABANDONED ON SOME GOD FORSAKEN BEACH LIKE A DISCARDED RAG!" She was crying now, and she took a deep breath, and spoke softly through her fresh tears. "Don't I get a say?" With that, she turned and ran, not to her TARDIS, but to the room in the house she had shared with the Doctor for more than half a century. She collapsed on their bed and cried again. This was all just too much.

The Doctors watched her leave with matching expressions of pain on their aged faces. Everything they had done was for her. And everything they had tried to do for her turned sour in the end. The men regarded each other in a silent truce. Despite their differences and the passage of time, they realized that they still shared more than the same name and similar histories. Both Doctors were madly in love with Rose Tyler, wanted what was best for her, and they were both apparently completely inept at making it happen.

The Time Lord turned to his counterpart. "Tell me everything. Begin at the beginning."

The human Doctor sighed. "You've probably noticed that I've aged, and she hasn't." He then poured out the whole story: Rose's eternal youth, how she literally had no one left but him, the ignored pains in his stomach, the diagnosis, and his rapidly dwindling time line.

"She left me that night after my diagnosis."

"Left you. What do you mean?"

"She took our TARDIS out for a spin. I don't know how long she was gone. I mean, for me it was five minutes. But she'd taken the TARDIS. She was obviously gone a lot longer than that. She came back a different person. She now carries the weight of the universe on her shoulders. I mean, she's strong. She can handle it if she must. But I chose to stay here with her, and you choose to leave her here with me precisely so that this didn't happen." Sorrow and regret tinged his usually buoyant demeanor.

The Time Lord just nodded. They both understood. She was more like them than they gave her credit for. Hadn't they both run from her for basically the same reason? It is terrifying to get close to someone you know you're going to have to say goodbye to. Sometimes running was the easier thing to do. Have TARDIS, will travel. But she had come back. She didn't have to. But she did. And that made the three hearts of the collective Doctor ache. They didn't deserve her.

The Time Lord broke their silence. "How long do you have left?"

"My physician says maybe a year. My time line says maybe a month."

The Time Lord paused. "Was it worth it?"

"Was what worth it?"

"Giving up all of time and space for the domestic slow path with Rose Tyler?"

The duplicate didn't even hesitate. "Yes. Most definitely. I have lived more in this last half century than I did in the nine centuries I lived before combined. It was worth it. _She_ is worth it!"

The Time Lord contemplated this for a moment.

But his duplicate was not finished. "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"Take care of our girl. Love her. _Tell_ her you love her! Only then will I be able to rest in peace."

"Suppose for a moment that she won't want to be with me?! That she'll decide that she doesn't need me anymore because she has her own TARDIS now!"

"She'll choose you. She will. I know she will."

"But how do you know?!"

"Listen Space Man!" The human Doctor's inner Donna always came out when he was under emotional stress. "Are you going to promise me, or do I have to haunt you from beyond? I'm serious, here!" He was near tears. "I'm begging you! Don't do it for me. We both know you can't stand me. Do it for her!"

"I promise." The Time Lord's voice was barely more than a whisper, but his counterpart accepted it anyway.

"Thank you. We good now?"

"Yeah, we're good." The two men shook hands. Then they walked together towards the house to find Rose. "Suppose it's time to face the music."

"Yep."

* * *

Clara watched the two men walk off from her seat by the window of the pub and shook her head. The Doctor had forgotten about her. Typical. But, for once she found that she didn't mind. Just as long as he didn't forget about her entirely and leave this universe without her, she found that she was content to remain where she was. The Doctor had told her about alternate universes before: how they were the same, yet different from the Prime Universe. How you can find your dreams come true and yet find that an alternate you gets to live them. As she sat at her table and gazed out the window at the zeppelins floating in the sky, she couldn't help but wonder about her parallel self. What choices had she made differently? Was she happy? What would happen if she ran into her alternate self? Should she say hi? She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the young man who approached and sat across from her.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing sitting here all alone?"

"Nothing. Just waiting for a friend."

The young man was non plussed. "Oh I see. Is it a date, then?"

"No, just a friend."

"Well then. How about I buy the lady a drink while she waits for her friend?"

"Thanks, but no thanks."

He looked hurt. "Well... I'll just..."

She smiled at him, then. "Look, it's nothing personal. You actually seen quite nice, and I appreciate the gesture. But I'm not really interested in... this sort of thing right now."

He brightened a little at that. "Just get out of a relationship, then?"

"I guess you could say that. He..." She hesitated, unsure of how much she should say. "He died."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry! I had no idea!"

"It's ok. It's not exactly like I broadcast that or anything." She smiled at him sweetly. "But thanks for your kindness. It's nice to be noticed."

"You're welcome. Sorry for your loss." He stood up and turned to leave. "By the way. Are you, by chance related to a girl named Clara Oswald?"

"Nope! Never heard of her!" She answered, quickly.

"Hmm. That's funny. Because you look just like her!"


	4. Running Into Each Other

**Here it comes. The entrance of alternate Danny Pink.**

**If I owned Doctor Who, this story would be the first episode of season 9.**

CHAPTER 4

Rose eventually forgave her Doctors, the Time Lord retrieved Clara from the pub, and the Doctors worked together to make the Old Girl operable again. The four spent a lot of time together over the next few weeks, swapping stories and laughing, talking about anything and everything except for the 900 pound gorilla in the room. What would happen when Rose's Doctor died?

While the Doctors tinkered in the Old Girl, Rose showed Clara the Baby Girl. She was not as vast or luxurious as the Old Girl, but she still was every bit a brilliant time ship. The women also spent time together in the pub that Clara had found the first day. She had been hoping to see that young man who knew her alternate self. First, she had to admit that she liked his interest. Second, she was very curious about her other self. The women were sitting in the same booth that Clara had found that first day, sharing a bag of chips when the door to the pub opened. Rose looked up from her plate of chips to find that Clara's face had gone completely white.

Clara had often fantasized about her other self. But there was one thing that never crossed her mind. She had never once considered that there might be an alternate Danny Pink, and that he'd still be alive, and he'd see her and start walking towards her table!

* * *

"That'll do it! The Old Girl is officially back at full power!" The human Doctor proclaimed.

"Thank you for your help. I'd have never gotten it on my own."

"It was the least I could do, considering that it is basically my fault that she lost power in the first place. Besides, now I can ask you for a favor."

The Time Lord rolled his eyes. "Yes, what do you want?"

"Will you sing the kadishua for me at my funeral?"

The Time Lord sobered at that. The kadishua was the traditional song of mourning on Gallifrey. The singer was usually someone very close to the deceased: usually a brother or sister. The Time Lord was deeply touched at this gesture. "It would be my honor, my brother."

* * *

Danny Pink was seeing a ghost. Either that, or the universe was playing a very cruel joke on him. She couldn't be, could she? Several months ago, Danny had lost his fiancee, Clara Oswald, in a tragic car accident. She had swerved to miss hitting an animal in the middle of the road, lost control of the car, and ended up rolling into a deep ravine. Today would have been their wedding day if she'd survived. Now, he'd gone out of his way to find a pub where no one knew him so he could drink away his pain, and there was her bleeding doppelganger if he ever saw one. And what's she doing looking at him as if _he_ were the ghost? And who is she sitting with?

Oh, no way! No freaking way! The day after Clara's death, Danny had run away with a mad blonde woman in a blue box. Together, they had saved the universe no fewer than a dozen times. Finally, they had both admitted to each other that they were running away from something very important. She dropped him off at his flat exactly an hour after he'd left, so no one was any the wiser. She, in turn, promised to face what it was that she was running from as well. Now this same blonde was sitting and having lunch with a woman who looked just like his dead fiancee. Well bloody hell!

"Rose?" Rose turned around to see who was addressing her. Well, if it was none other than her last companion, Danny Pink!

"Danny! Good to see you! Come join us! My friend and I were just having chips! Danny, this is my friend..." Then it hit her. Danny's fiancee. Clara's boyfriend. Both dead. Oh dear. This is about to get messy. Unless... She suddenly had a vision of her Mum and parallel Pete running to embrace each other in the hall. Well, they turned out okay...

"This is my friend Clara Oswald. Clara, this is my friend Danny Pink." They both looked at her in shock. "Danny, Clara is from a parallel universe. Clara has been the companion of a man who is a lot like me, called the Doctor, and they've accidentally landed here. Clara, Danny has been my companion on my Baby Girl. I've only just realized the connection, to the ones you've both loved and lost recently. This is completely unplanned, and I'm sorry for the discomfort this may cause you both. And... I'm going to go off and find the Doctors now. Ta!"

The two remaining people at the table regarded each other cautiously.

"So... parallel universe, huh?" Danny started.

"Yep."

Silence. This time it was Clara's turn to break it. "So, you've traveled with Rose?"

"Yep."

More silence. Could it possibly even get more awkward? Danny tried again. "So, this Doctor. Does he, like, time travel and fight aliens and stuff like Rose?"

Clara at least attempted to give more than a one word answer this time. "Yeah, he does, actually." She managed a grin. "Isn't it great?"

"Oh, totally. Completely! It's like, I didn't know that there was so much out there!"

"Oh, I know! It's like it makes things worthwhile even when..." her voice trailed off.

"Even when the person you want to share it with us gone," Danny finished for her.

"Yeah... So. Who'd you lose?"

He hesitated before looking at her fully in the face. "You."

Clara gasped. "I lost you!"

"Really? What happened to me?"

"You were hit by a car and then turned into a Cyberman."

"Eesh! Well you rolled your car about ten times down a hill. But, on the plus side, there is one more rabbit that is still alive today that wouldn't have been otherwise."

"Stupid rabbit!" Was she... smiling... at the mention of her counterpart's unfortunate demise? She couldn't help it. This was Danny! Her Danny!

He was smiling too. "Look. You're not really... I mean... I'm not really... oh come here!"

As they kissed, Rose watched from a safe distance wiping the tears from her eyes. It looks like at least one couple would get a happy ending out of this mess. The question was, did Pete's world just gain a new citizen, or did the Doctor just get a new companion?

So lost she was in her musings, she didn't notice the Time Lord at first standing in the entrance to her house.

"Go to him. He needs you."

* * *

The human Doctor had suddenly collapsed after the Old Girl was declared functional. He had suddenly had a searing pain in his abdomen like he'd never felt before, tearing through his body like a knife. He didn't have to look at his time line now to know that time was running out. He could feel it. The Time Lord used the Old Girl to carry him home and make him comfortable in his own bed.

Rose ran to him. "I'm here, my Doctor, I'm here!"

"Rose!"

"That's right, it's me. I'm here. I'm here."

"Please don't be mad at me, Rose."

"I'm not mad at you. Why should I be mad at you?"

"For bringing him here."

"Oh, that. Your heart was in the right place. Don't you worry about a thing."

"Oh Rose! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"For what?"

"For ending our forever."

Tears spilled out of her eyes. "This is it then, isn't it?" She sobbed.

"'Fraid so." His eyes were also very damp. "Thank you. For... for everything. Living this one life with you, it's been more than I could have ever dreamed."

"Me too!" She sobbed. "How much time do you have?"

"About two minutes." Are you kidding me?

"I... I don't know what to say! I... I love you!"

"Quite right, too. And I suppose, that this really is the last chance I have to say it. Rose Tyler...

I. Love. You!"


	5. Running No More

**It's time for Tentoo's big send off, and for Rose and Twelve to finally talk.**

**Again. I do not own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 5

They built the funeral pyre at Bad Wolf Bay. It was fitting, somehow. That was where Rose and her human Doctor began their lives together, and now it was where their story would end. Rose watched, helpless, as the Time Lord painstakingly built the pyre alone. She had wanted to help, but he told her that it was inappropriate for the widow to build the pyre. So she was forced to just stand by and watch as he painstakingly stacked the logs just so.

Widow. Oh how she hated that word. It sounded empty, and hollow. Much like her head had felt ever since he had breathed his last only hours ago. Funny that she should spend the first twenty odd years of her life with only her own thoughts in her head, and now the absence of her bond-mate's mind made her own feel foreign to her.

The pyre' s construction complete, Rose and the Doctor gently laid her husband's body upon it, doused it with fuel and set it ablaze, tears streaming down both of their cheeks. As the flames began to consume the pyre and its precious burden, the Doctor's rich and pure baritone voice rang out through the night. Rose didn't understand the words, for they were in Gallifreyan, but it had a melody so hauntingly beautiful that even nearby animals seemed to stop and listen.

When the last notes of the kadishua died down, silence descended upon the beach, interrupted only by the crackle of the fire and Rose's hushed sobs as she sat and assumed the position for the traditional widow's watch. She would watch over her husband's funeral pyre until dawn, or until the fire burned out naturally, whichever came first.

The Doctor returned to his TARDIS and emerged again a few minutes later with a blanket and a thermos of hot tea, the former of which he wrapped around her shoulders as he gave her a light squeeze of support. She smiled weakly at him in gratitude. He then sat next to her, resolved that she would not have to spend this painful night alone.

They sat for awhile in companionable silence as they watched the flames consume what was left of the Doctor's duplicate. Neither of them wanted to destroy the sanctity of the moment. After a while, though, Rose chose to break the silence.

"Thank you for staying. You didn't have to, you know."

"I know. But I wanted to make sure you were okay. This cannot be an easy night for you."

She nodded and sighed, wiping yet a few more stray tears that escaped. "This is not how it was supposed to end, you know? We were supposed to be together, forever! I'd always assumed that if he went before me, I wouldn't have to wait long to join him in the hereafter. Even after we discovered my... unique situation, I'd always just assumed that that was how it was going to be. Call it denial or whatever you like, but that's how I'd always seen it. But now..." She could no longer speak as those few stray tears once again turned into a steady flow and she struggled to suppress a sob.

Then the Doctor did something that was foreign to him in this incarnation, yet seemed as natural to him as breathing. He reached out and embraced her in a hug. To his great relief, she did not pull away, but clung to him tighter as she no longer bothered to suppress her sobs. Softly and gently, he began to rock her softly, like she was a small child, rubbed her back, stroked her hair, and whispered to her words of comfort.

Gradually, she began to calm down, though she did not release her grip on the Doctor. He, in turn, did not stop trying to soothe her. They sat together that way for what seemed like a long time, the sound of his double heartbeats in her ear. Once again, Rose broke the silence.

"How do you handle it?" She asked, softly, her voice raspy from all of her crying.

"Handle what?"

"Outliving everyone you love."

He was silent for a moment as he considered his answer. "Not very well. As you should know full well."

Rose inhaled sharply at that comment, not because of what he'd said, but what he had perhaps unknowingly implied. Silence one again descended for a few beats until she said, "I ran."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to inhale sharply. Should he pretend like he didn't already know? But that's dishonest. But there was only one way he could have known, and the implications of that were far reaching. Still, what they needed now more than anything was honesty. Complete honesty. "I know. He told me. He didn't want you to know that he knew, but he did tell me that he understood completely and forgave you."

She wiped away even more tears at that. Gosh, where were they all coming from? "I..." She stuttered. "I didn't deserve him."

The Doctor didn't know what to say to that. He wanted to tell her that it was more likely the other way around, but it was not his place to do so, so he just asked, "How long were you gone?"

Rose's voice was so low that was not for his superior Time Lord hearing, he'd have never heard it. "1900 years, give or take."

He whistled at that. "Wow. That's some trip."

"Do you hate me for it?"

"Rose Tyler, why would you ever think that?!"

"Because it's horrible! The man I loved was practically on his death bed, and I up and abandoned him for close to two millennia!"

"I'm not one to judge. I created a human version of myself just so I didn't have to deal with the emotional ramifications of having to watch someone I love grow old and die!"

There it was again. What was not being said spoke much louder than the words that he'd spoken.

But he wasn't finished. "I've been running all my lives. That's all I know how to do, it seems. I might be able to stare down an entire bloody army of Daleks without flinching, but put my hearts in danger, and I'm the biggest coward in the multi-verse!"

Rose looked up at him, amazed at his transparency. She had never known him to be so unguarded and so open. She reached up to stroke his face. He closed his eyes and leaned his head into her lingering touch. It was then that he knew: he was tired of running. Rose marveled at him, and how he moved under her touch like he desperately wanted it, but was afraid to allow himself the pleasure. Whatever had happened to him in their time apart that made him so completely broken?

"Doctor, how long's it been for you since, you know?"

He sighed then, and Rose was shocked to feel moisture on her fingertips. Was he... crying? "1099 years, 6 months, 3 days, 5 hours, 42 minutes, and 32 seconds from the time I left you on this godforsaken beach until I opened the TARDIS and saw you and him standing there. And I've regenerated twice."

This last part broke her heart even more than it was before. Two regenerations. She had missed an entire incarnation of her Time Lord Doctor. She hesitated before asking, "What was he like? The you I missed?"

He chuckled at that. "He was... a bit... strange."

Now it was Rose's turn to laugh. "No offense, Doctor, but you've never been someone that I could call, you know, normal."

He smiled at that. "Normalcy is highly overrated anyway."

"Seriously, though. What was he like?"

"Youngest I've ever been. A bit hyper and accident prone. Obsessed with bow ties, fezzes, and Stetsons of all things."

Now she really laughed at that. "I'm sorry. But did you just say bow ties and fezzes?! What a combination!"

"If you think that is a weird combination, you should've seen what I liked to eat! Fish Fingers and Custard."

"Together?!"

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!"

"Wow. Um, gee. Thanks, but I think I'll pass. How about I just take your word for it?"

Pleased that he had made her smile (even if it was at his Eleventh self's expense), he began to tell her of all of his adventures since they'd last seen each other. Well, almost all. He wasn't quite sure how to tell her about River Song. He figured that telling her he had married someone else would mar the camaraderie that they had just rekindled. So he kept the stories light and fun as together they watched the last embers of the flames die out as the first rays of the morning sun stretched across the land.


	6. Running Back to Each Other

**Thank you all for the kind reviews! I'm glad that you like this so far. I hope that I don't disappoint you as I continue. And, wow, once I started writing this chapter, I just couldn't stop! Enjoy!**

**It's D-Day: Decision Day. The Doctor is ready to return to the Prime Universe. Will anyone go with him?**

**I don't own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 6

The Doctor took Rose back to her house where they sadly discovered that the Baby Girl was no more. The Doctor was sorry, but was honestly not surprised. TARDISs develop an inseparable bond with their Time Lord (and apparently part Time Lord) pilots that makes their lives completely dependent on their pilot. Therefore, when Rose's husband died, so did the TARDIS. The only way she could have been saved would have been for another Time Lord or Lady to adopt her before he died. The Doctor would have done it himself, except that he already had his own. He'd have had to abandon the Old Girl to make it happen, and that he most definitely could never do. Rose, of course, wondered why she wasn't good enough. After all, she was the main pilot after traveling with her for almost two millennia. The Doctor had only shrugged and said that it was a mystery and he was so sorry that she suffered another traumatic loss that day.

Rose just shrugged, the ache in her heart now manifesting itself as numbness. She wondered if her life would ever return to normal. Then she wondered if normal was even what she really wanted. She was a ball of heartache and nerves: a veritable emotional wreck. This, of course, was understandable given the circumstances. But Rose Tyler was a woman who prided herself in having control over her emotions, and this complete loss of control frustrated her to no end.

But through it all, she was just grateful for the Doctor. She had been upset when he'd first arrived, but now she was just glad that he was here. He was being so good. When her husband passed, he had immediately stepped up and taken charge of the situation. Under normal circumstances, this would have irked her to no end. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself! But as the Doctor quietly moved about, making arrangements for this that and the other, Rose realized that he wasn't doing it because he didn't think she was capable of doing it herself: he was doing it simply because he knew she was hurting and wanted to help.

His kindness continued for the next few days after the funeral as well. He cooked meals for her, cleaned her little house from top to bottom, and even did her laundry. It was all so... _domestic_! She was amazed at this. The previous incarnations that she'd known would have never done such things, and certainly not without her asking to, and most definitely not without complaining - loudly. She was actually beginning to wonder if this truly was the same man after all!

"Doctor? Why are you doing all this?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"No, I guess not, but this is... well, it's domestic. Since when do you do domestic? _Voluntarily_?!" She enunciated every syllable of that last word as if they were five separate words to make her point.

"Since... Well... I guess you do make a point."

"Are you sure you're really the Doctor? Are you sure that there's not some kind of weird creature that has stolen your body? I mean, it's been known to happen!"

"My hearts aren't going to be beating out a samba to the rhythm of a bitchy trampoline, if that's what you're getting at."

She had to smile at that. Yes, who else but her Doctor would know her nickname for Cassandra, the 'last human'? "Ok, maybe not. But this isn't you!"

"It could be," he said, softly. Rose was taken aback by this and so said nothing.

"Rose, I know that I have a horrible track record when it comes to domestics and matters of the heart. I know that in so many ways I could never be the kind of man that you deserve. But I've only just realized that I've been running for over two thousand years, and I've been running without direction. For once in my impossibly long life, I would like to be running _towards_ something instead of away. And I'm tired, so very tired of running alone!"

Rose was still too gobsmacked to speak, but nodded at him encouragingly, so he continued. "The walls between the universes are starting to close. I estimate that I have 48 hours at most before they close again. I would like to leave tomorrow at the latest to make sure that the TARDIS can fit through the gap."

Rose's eyes began to well up with tears. He was leaving her, again? But he wasn't finished. "You could come with me, if you like."

"But you already have a companion. You have Clara. And it looks like you may be gaining Danny as well."

"I don't want another companion, Rose. I want... I want a partner. I want... no, I need... _You_!"

Her eyes began to tear up again, but for a completely different reason entirely. She grinned at him, her tongue poking between her teeth like it did in days gone by. "That depends," she teased. "This ship of yours, does she only travel in space?"

His face lit up as he caught on immediately. "Did I mention that she also travels in time?"

She grinned broadly at him, then, as she ran into his waiting arms and they held each other close. With that, the old team was back together: like Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, and Shiver and Shake! The stuff of legends!

* * *

Clara and Danny were inseparable. They picked up right where they'd left off with the counterparts, and no one who had seen them would have guessed that they'd technically only just met a couple of days prior. It was like nothing had ever changed, and yet better because their original loves never fully understood their need to travel and see the stars, while their new loves understood completely. So when the Doctor announced that he (and Rose!) was leaving the next day, and "There's room on the TARDIS for both of you, if you like!" they both accepted without hesitation. Danny had had no reason to remain behind. He had no family and few friends who he wasn't really that close to anyway, and a job that he could easily get just about anywhere. Rose, a kind of expert on introducing someone from an alternate universe into the hole left behind by someone who had died (thanks to her Mum and Mickey), helped concoct an "I didn't really die but had a really bad case of amnesia" story for Danny that was actually believable.

As Rose ran around her house that night, packing things that she didn't want to leave behind, she suddenly realized that she was humming to herself! She hadn't felt this light hearted since... since... Then out of nowhere she was overcome with a pang of guilt. She had just lost her husband less than a week ago. What right did she have to be this happy? Was she betraying him by running off with the Doctor now? And what does this mean for the two of them? He'd implied it, but he still hadn't spoken those three little words that she so desperately longed to hear. Granted, she hadn't said them recently, either, but at least she'd _said_ them.

The tiniest bit of doubt worked its way into her thoughts. She had to be reasonable here and for once think with her head instead of her heart. She wasn't a nineteen year old kid anymore. She was an adult of impossible age, and it was time that she started acting like one! She just couldn't up and leave! She had a life here!

But as she took inventory of her life, she was shocked at what little she'd found. She had no family to speak of any longer: her parents had died long ago, and so had her brother and his wife. Her nieces and nephews all believed her to be her own granddaughter, and if she'd ever tell them the truth, they'd have her hooked up to some machine in the basement of Torchwood so quickly that she wouldn't even have time to blink - if they even believed her at all. She had no job, having left Torchwood years ago for the same reason that she was estranged from her nieces and nephews and their families. She had no friends - at least no one that she could really talk to anyway. And now she had no husband either. All she did have was an empty house full of stuff. She realized that she'd left more of a life behind when she'd run away with the Doctor the first time! Even if she and the Doctor ended up never more than friends, that life was preferable to this!

But this time, it would be different. She wouldn't be his companion, she'd be his _partner_. That's what he'd said, anyway. What did that even mean? Did the Doctor himself even know? Perhaps it was no more than a companion with driving privileges. But the way he'd said it made it sound like it was a lot more than that, almost as if... No. She was not going to go there. How many times did she get her hopes up, only to have them destroyed worse than they were before?

She paused in her packing as she came across a photo from her wedding day. "Oh, Sweetheart!" She breathed, as the tears began to fall once more. "I wish you were here so that you could tell me I'm doing the right thing!"


	7. Running Away Again

**Finally, an end to the angst... maybe?**

**I do not own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 7

They left the next morning. Rose gasped as she beheld the console room. "Oh! You've redecorated!"

"Do you like it?" he asked, hopefully.

"Actually, I kind of do! She's gotten chic and sophisticated in her old age. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but she seems even bigger on the inside than she was before! Nice job, Old Girl!" she cooed, stroking one of the many new electronic panels that replaced the coral struts of old. The TARDIS hummed in response, happy that her Wolf was back on board.

She was excited to find that her old room was still there. It was like a time capsule. Blimey, was the room pink! She still loved pink, but she had long since outgrown the need for _everything_ she owned to be a shade of that color. She smiled at the shelves of alien trinkets that she had picked up along the way, and was surprised to realize that she didn't only remember what they all were, but she remembered the stories that went with each item. Then there were the photographs; so many smiling faces from years gone by. A smiling Rose next to a scowling Doctor in leather: "Why would anybody want a picture of this daft face?" he'd asked. A smiling Rose between a grinning Jack and a leather clad Doctor who also bore a cheesy grin. She remembered that particular night clearly; everybody had lived. It was the Doctor who suggested that the picture be taken! Then there were the many photos of her with her pinstriped Doctor. He looked so much like her late husband that she ached.

She carefully opened her bigger on the inside backpack and pulled out photographs of her husband to add to the gallery and trinkets from Pete's World to add to the collection. She hadn't brought clothing, food, or any other items that one usually packs for a trip. The TARDIS, she knew, would provide her with everything she needed. She had just brought items of irreplaceable personal value that she'd miss if she'd left them: jewelry from her husband, mementos from her parents' mansion, and gifts from her brother. The last thing she unpacked was the most precious item of all: her husband's sonic screwdriver. She wondered if the Doctor would let her use it! Her bag unpacked and her stuff officially moved in, she pocketed the sonic, closed the door and made her way to the console room, where the Doctor was ready to plug in the dematerialization sequence that would take them out of Pete's World forever (or so she hoped!).

"All moved in?" he asked.

"Yep," was all she said, popping her 'p' like her husband used to.

While they were waiting for Clara and Danny to return to the console room, the Doctor asked Rose if she would like one last look at Pete's World before they went. She had to admit that she did. She had hated the very existence of this universe when she had first arrived here without the Doctor after Canary Wharf, but now that they were finally returning to the Prime Universe, she was feeling a bit nostalgic. This had been her home for a whopping 1,965 years, and she was leaving it forever. Despite the heartache that had first brought her here, there were good memories here along with the bad. Still, as she stood in the doorway of the open TARDIS and beheld the zeppelins one last time, she found that she had never been more ready to leave. She closed the doors of the TARDIS, walked back over to the Doctor and Clara and Danny who had just arrived and said, "Let's go!"

The trip back through the Void was surprisingly uneventful, considering the difficulty of this particular maneuver. Still, it took a lot out of the Old Girl, and the very first place that they went was Cardiff so that she could refuel at the rift. Clara was eager to show Danny her home universe, and he admitted that he was very curious, so the Doctor told them to go ahead and go have some fun. He'd call Clara on her mobile when they were ready to leave.

"She's been a good companion, Rose. One of the best I've ever had, actually. Not only did she stay with me after a regeneration, but it was possibly the most drastic change I've gone through," the Doctor said, attempting to make casual conversation.

"So she knew the you with the bowtie? I'm going to have to talk to her! I'm sure she has stories!" she teased.

They made small talk and reminisced about the old days for several hours as the ship refueled. It was almost like old times, especially since they still weren't discussing the one thing she wished they would: the status of their relationship.

Finally, the Doctor turned to her with a twinkle in his eye. "She's refueled. Whaddaya say we take her for a spin and come back for them later?"

"They might hate us, but, oh, what the hell?" She grinned in response. "We have a bloody time machine! They'll never know we've gone! So, where are we going?"

"How about you tell me?"

"You mean, it's my choice?"

"No. How about you drive? I understand that you once ran away in a TARDIS by yourself for almost two millennia! The controls of my ship aren't really that different from yours. Whaddaya say? Impress me!"

Rose couldn't believe that this was happening! The Doctor was letting her drive! Still, she played it casual. "Impress _you_?! Alright, Time Lord, you're on!" She grinned her famous grin with her tongue poking between her teeth. "So, where do ya wanna go? Past, present, or future?"

"How about future?"

"How far in the future?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about 100 years?"

She knew immediately what he was doing, so she played along, plugged in coordinates, and off they went. Oh, she was loving this! "There ya go. The year 2105. Outside those doors is the New Roman empire. But, you don't really want that." She plugged in new coordinates, and they were off again. "The year 3105, space exploration really takes off!"

"You think you're so impressive!" he taunted.

"I _am_ so impressive!" She grinned back at him. "Alright then, you asked for it!" She plugged in another set of coordinates and they were off one last time.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Why don't you go and take a look? And no, I did _not_ take us to Platform 1!"

The Doctor opened the doors of the TARDIS and gasped. He really _was_ impressed! "Barcelona! You brought me to Barcelona!"

"Well, you once promised to bring me here, and you never did. So, sometimes a girl has to take matters into her own hands!"

He whistled in appreciation as he reached for her hand. She beamed. Together, they walked hand in hand out of the TARDIS. She couldn't believe it! She was back on an adventure in the Prime Universe with the Doctor, and she had flown the TARDIS! She felt as if she would float off into space with sheer happiness!

"20 quid says that you find trouble before I do!" The Doctor teased.

She turned to him and grinned. "Oh, you are _so_ on!" They shook on it.

* * *

**Quick question for my readers: do you want to see the Barcelona adventure? I'm not very good at writing adventures, I think. But I have the aftermath of the adventure already written out in my head, and it's beautiful! I could just start the next scene with them running back to the TARDIS at the end of the adventure. Or I could try to write a detailed adventure. What is the wish of my readers?  
**


	8. Running Together

**Thanks for your lovely comments! Based on what I've heard from you I've decided that we are going to skip most of Barcelona and keep it vague. This means... that this is the chapter that you've all been waiting for!**

**I still don't own Doctor Who.**

CHAPTER 8

The Doctor looked about his surroundings with great joy. He had not been to Barcelona since before the Time War, so it had been a very long time indeed. He was both touched and amazed that it was Rose who had brought him here. She was a natural at flying the TARDIS, or so it seemed. She might even be a better driver than him, not that he would ever admit to it.

As they walked together down the main street of the town they had found, he found himself glancing at her often out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't believe that she was really here. Fate had brought his magnificent pink and yellow human back to him at last, and it looked like she might really stay forever this time. Not just for the rest of her impossibly short human life, but a real forever where he will never have to be alone again. The thought made him want to pinch himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

But then again, not even his dreams could come up with a scenario this perfect. In fact, it was almost too perfect. In an instant, his joy vanished as he began watching for the trouble that he was sure was coming. Everyone else gets a happily ever after, but not him. Never him. He doesn't deserve a happily ever after. He's done too much, ruined too many lives to even deserve the small bit of happiness he had had with Rose the first time. To expect more now would be pushing his luck. Especially since of all the lives he had ever ruined, he had ruined hers the most.

Of course, he knew, if he said that she'd deny it. Her life wasn't ruined at all! He had made it better! But he knew the truth. Because of him, she had seen death and destruction on a wide scale. Because of him, she had nightmares about Daleks and Cybermen and creatures that most humans had never even heard of. Because of him, she had absorbed the Time Vortex and committed genocide when she destroyed the Daleks on the Gamestation. Because of him, she had to witness her father's tragic death. Because of him, she was trapped in a completely different universe. Because of him, she now carries the weight of the universe on her shoulders. Because of him, because of him, because of him...

Because of him, she has outlived everyone she has ever loved, and cannot even look forward to joining them soon in the afterlife because she is now cursed with near immortality like he is. And of all the reasons that he believed that he had ruined the life of Rose Tyler, that was the reason he hated the most, because he didn't even know! Had his human self not summoned him when he did, Rose would now be completely and utterly alone, and he wouldn't even be looking for her!

But despite the guilt darkening his thoughts, he couldn't help regarding her with pride. As she released hold of his hand to peak into another little shop ("I just love a little shop!") or to play with another one of the famously nose-less dogs, he was struck with how much and yet how little time had changed her. Gone was the outspoken nineteen year old girl who always wandered off and attracted trouble like magnet. In her place was a mature woman who was strong, courageous, and fiercely devoted to everything that was good and beautiful. Her famously large heart seemed to have only gotten even larger: as he watched her interact with the dogs, the children, and even the grumpiest of shop clerks, he had no doubt that she could still show mercy to a Dalek if a situation warranted it - even now knowing what evil they are capable of. Yes, time had only enhanced Rose Tyler.

But not all of time's passage had been positive and gentle. Like him, her eyes now belied her age and reflected the many losses she had endured and the tragedies that she had witnessed, participated in, or even caused. That weight on her shoulders was very real indeed, and her grief over the most recent of her losses was still very raw. The pink and yellow human who had helped to put him back together after the War was now broken herself.

So lost he was in his thoughts, that he really wasn't paying full attention to what he was doing and saying. This could be a bad thing on a planet such as Barcelona, for one ill-placed word or careless gesture could cause a world of trouble. Which is how he and Rose both now found themselves in prison.

* * *

"Well, how was I supposed to know that waving to a man was the same as propositioning him?" Rose complained. She then addressed the jailer. "Really sir, I didn't mean anything by it! I'm not from around here! I was just saying hello!"

"Your offense would not have been as bad had I not followed up your wave by complimenting his wife on her hat. I made us both sound like a pair of prostitutes! I'd forgotten how sensitive the people were here!" The Doctor replied.

She smiled a little at that. "So, just like old times. We're in jail again. So who owes who 20 quid?"

"Let's just call it a draw."

"Fair enough, since we're both in here. So... any idea as to how we're going to get out of this mess?"

"Not a clue!"

"Yep. Exactly like old times!" She grinned. She wasn't worried. They'd find a way out of it together. They always did.

* * *

Several hours and some sonicked locks later, the pair found themselves running at top speed towards the TARDIS with an angry mob chasing them. The Doctor snapped his fingers to open the doors ("Well, that's a handy new trick!" Rose thought.) and snapped them closed again as Rose slammed her hand on the button that sent them off into the Time Vortex.

They collapsed on the floor in a heap, breathless. "I'm getting too old for this!" The Doctor complained.

"You? Never! Me on the other hand..." Rose collapsed into a fit of laughter that made her sides hurt. The laughter was contagious, and soon the Doctor's sides hurt just as badly as tears streamed down both of their faces because they were laughing so hard.

"So that's another planet I won't be able to visit again until I regenerate!" the Doctor said when he was finally able to breathe again.

"Make a habit of offending planets often in this incarnation, eh? Still rude, and not ginger!" She mock scolded.

"Hey! I could've been ginger before I went grey!"

"Doubtful. There's still some dark hairs interspersed among the grey up there. Besides, were you ever not grey in this incarnation?"

"No."

"Then it wouldn't have counted anyway."

"Fine. Have it your way."

This being settled, silence descended upon the TARDIS as the mood shifted to something a bit more serious. Still they laid on the floor.

After awhile, the Doctor rolled on his side to face her. "Thank you, Rose."

She rolled to face him. She was surprised at how close they had suddenly become. It was very intimate. "You're welcome, of course, but for what?"

"For..." He hesitated, unsure of what to say. "For everything. For coming with me, for sharing an adventure with me. For making me laugh. I haven't laughed that hard, or hardly even at all for that matter, since my last incarnation. I'm afraid this me hasn't always been the easiest person to deal with. Just ask Clara. I even asked her once if I was a good man, and she said that she didn't know!"

"But you _are_ a good man!"

"Not lately, I haven't been. Or ever, really. Everywhere I go, people die."

"No one died on Barcelona today."

"That we know of."

"Doctor," she said as she reached over and grabbed his hand. "You are way too hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack. Not everything is your fault."

"Maybe not. But a whole lot of it is!"

"Doctor." Her hand left his and reached up to stroke his cheek. "Oh my Doctor! If I could have just one wish, it would be for you to give up some of this guilt that you carry around. It breaks my heart to hear you talk this way!"

"I can't help it, Rose! It's how I feel!"

She was quiet for a moment as she continued to stroke his cheek. Then she stopped and looked him squarely in the eyes. She might soon regret what she was about to say, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I still love you, you know."

Tears began to fall down his cheeks. Oh, he could never deserve her. But she deserved this one thing from him. "Oh, Rose Tyler! I have always loved you!"

Now it was Rose's turn for tears to fall. "Really?" she whispered.

"Really." He choked as he reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I love you! I have loved you practically since the moment we first met. And I'm sorry I've never told you before. I'm such a coward, Rose! And I'll never..."

But his sentence was cut off as she caught his lips in a kiss. He responded, gently at first, and then hungrily as they both drank each other in, tongues and teeth clashing as the kiss deepened. It seemed to go on forever, and Rose could've sworn that she'd seen fireworks. Finally, they broke apart, breathless, even the Doctor's respiratory bypass having given out.

"Rose" he breathed. "I know that you just lost your husband and bond-mate and this may be too soon, but I was wondering..." his voice trailed off.

"Yes, my Doctor?"

"Would you be my bond-mate?"

She didn't even hesitate to give her reply to this Gallifreyan marriage proposal. "Yes!"


	9. Running Forever

**So they are finally together! I don't know why he thought it was too soon. It only took him over a millennium to tell her... anyway. This chapter is inspired by Vintage Tea Party who has written a beautiful series on this site exploring the intimacy of the Doctor and Rose's bond. The first story in the series is "A new way to keep company". I highly recommend it if you haven't read it yet! **

**I do not own Doctor Who, but I had a completely awesome dream last night where those who do were filming series 9 and wanted an unknown American actress to play a regenerated Rose for a reunion episode... And they picked me! Why did I wake up from that?! :D**

CHAPTER 9

They held each other tight and kissed some more. For once, the Doctor ignored the ticking clock in his head and allowed himself to get caught up in the moment and actually lose track of time. After a while, Rose stood and pulled a beautiful piece of fabric from her transdimensional pocket. It was long and narrow, and beautifully trimmed in scarlet and gold, the colors of Gallifrey.

The Doctor recognized it right away. "But that's..."

She grinned. "Yes it is! A Gallifreyan bonding cloth. Well, technically it was made on Earth in Pete's World, but it still seemed to do the trick the last time I was bonded. Truth is... I kind of... hoped you'd ask." She blushed a little as she said the last part.

"And you'd thought that you might as well be prepared." The Doctor beamed as he, too, stood. "Rose Tyler, if I didn't already love you, I most definitely would now!"

She beamed. She would never get tired of hearing him say he loved her. "I love you too! Why wait? Let's be bonded!"

"Are you sure it's not too soon?"

"Doctor, we've both waited over a millennium for this! It's been close to two for me. I hardly think it's too soon!" She laughed.

"But... your husband..."

"Would want me to be happy. And this... this makes me very happy!"

How could he argue with that? He grabbed one end of the beautiful cloth while she retained the other. Slowly, almost reverently, he wrapped both of her hands in the cloth. "If the parents of the bride are deceased, the bride gives her own consent. Do you?"

"I do so consent and freely give!"

He then leaned over and whispered his name, his true name, into her ear. She then leaned over and whispered "Bad Wolf" into his. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before slowly diving in for another kiss. This kiss sent a spark through each of them as their minds joined and became one. Without saying a word, he grabbed her hand and led them off to his (now theirs) bedroom.

* * *

They began to freely explore their new bond. She entered his mind first, and with such strength that he was truly amazed.

_I know. He was surprised I could do this, too._ She spoke directly into his mind, taking his breath away. _I shouldn't be able to. But then again, I shouldn't be able to live this long, either. Here is our wedding present from the Bad Wolf._

Like her first husband, her new husband's mind was parched and dry due to the long absence of telepathic touch. Gently, and with skill he didn't know she possessed, she wandered over every inch of his mind, soothing it as she went. Whenever she came to a closed door, she gave him a mental squeeze to tell him that it was ok. Gradually, his defenses fell, and one by one, the doors opened, revealing memories that he was afraid for her to see, and yet needed her to see for her to truly understand him. One by one, the memories of all of his losses trickled out from behind these doors, and Rose experienced them all as if she were there: Susan, Jamie, Zoe, Ramona, Jo, young Sarah Jane, Adric - he had actually _died_ while _with_ the Doctor, Rose was grieved to discover. One by one, the departures of all of his companions played out in front of her eyes and she felt his pain as if it was her own. Then came the memories of the Time War and the night he chose to end it all. These memories, of course, she had seen before, coming from her first husband. But to experience them coming from the Doctor was like learning them all over again. Then there was the memory she never expected: he went back, twice apparently, and actually saved Gallifrey. This made her heart soar!

Canary Wharf. How could she have ever thought that he didn't care for her back then? If her one little heart was broken that day, so more thoroughly heartbroken was the man with two. She felt it now, as intensely as he had that day, and openly wept over the magnitude of it. The only memory that was worse was of him walking away and leaving her behind with his double. She had had no idea how hard that had been for him. He didn't look back because he didn't dare. He'd have never have been able to leave otherwise, and in his mind, it had to be done. She understood now. She hadn't at the time, but now she understood. And she forgave him.

Then came memories that she had never seen before, memories from the time after they were separated. Erasing Donna's memory. Sacrificing his Tenth self for her grandfather, Wilf. Saying goodbye to her before she'd even met him. (_The drunk in the street that New Years - that was you?! And you weren't drunk, you were holding in your regeneration! Oh my Doctor!_) Regenerating alone and not wanting to go. The Ponds and Weeping Angels. River Song.

When she got to River, his mind became more deliberate and controlled. _There's something you need to know about her._ He deliberately sent her memories from their wedding, along with a rush of guilt and sorrow.

_She made you happy. Why should you apologize for that? _

_But I betrayed you!_

_You never thought you'd see me again. Besides, it's not like we were together before, so how is it a betrayal? It's hardly as if I was sitting around pining for you! We both found love with other people. It's ok!_

_It was different for you, though. He was me!_

_Exactly. He _was_ you. Then he wasn't anymore. He was a completely different person. It's ok. Really. It's ok!_

The Doctor was relieved. He had been so afraid that she would have resented him for it. Then Rose did something completely unexpected. She delved down into the deepest recesses of his mind where his immense guilt was stored. Like her first husband before, her new husband guarded his guilt like a fortress. Stone like walls barricaded it in, not to keep others protected, but to protect himself from it. He audibly gasped as the barriers fell at her slightest touch. He braced himself for the rush of guilt and self-loathing he was sure was about to come. But it didn't. Rose actually absorbed it all! She wandered through what remained of his storehouse of guilt and gently tugged, and pulled it away. Her former husband's guilt had been thick like this as well, and she knew exactly what to do with it. She absorbed it into herself. By the time she was done, only a trace of guilt remained. This was the most precious of intimate gifts. No one had ever even thought to do this for him before. He openly wept as the magnitude of what she had just done overcame him and he lost all emotional control. She lingered in his mind for a few minutes more, caressing him with her gentle touch, sending him feelings of peace, hope, and love. Mostly love. He had never felt such love directed at him before. She then withdrew back into her own mind.

He eagerly followed her, hoping to have the chance to do for her what she had done for him. There were no doors in her mind. She trusted him so completely that her mind was left completely wide open. So he let his mind wander freely and explore her fully. Being bonded is like no other experience in the universe. There are no secrets between the couple. Everything gets laid bare. As a result, they are closer than should be possible.

And so it was. The Doctor learned many things about his Rose that he had no way of knowing before because she kept them bottled up inside her. Not anymore. Growing up without a dad on a Council Estate and being treated like the white trash she believed herself to be. Feelings of abandonment as her mother brought home all semblance of men in order to try and fill the ache in her own heart.

Jimmy Stone. She had reached out to him in a moment of weakness. The musician was good looking and cool and seemed to act like she was someone worthwhile. That was until he had used her and abused her and left her when he tired of her. It was a broken girl indeed who returned to her Mum's flat one night when she was 17. She had been beaten, spat upon, and raped multiple times by her own boyfriend. The last straw came when she had driven herself to a planned parenthood clinic and aborted her unborn child - the only child, it seemed, that she would ever have. Her Mum didn't even know.

The Doctor was beyond infuriated and had to suppress his desire to go in the TARDIS, go back in time, find that bastard, and kill him - slowly. And then somehow bring him back so he could kill him again! Rose sensed this coming from him and laughed. She loved how protective he was of her. She reminded him that this would accomplish absolutely nothing. He agreed, and instead sought out the place where she stored her guilt. But to his amazement, it was gone. Ah, so that's how she knew what to do for him! _He_ had already done it for her!

_Yes. Yes he did. But I'm beyond touched that you wanted to do it for me as well. You didn't have to. Neither of you did._

_But... it should've been me! I should've done that for you ages ago, while we were still together!_

_Well, it was you, in a way. But if you still want to do something for me, there's something else I need to show you._

With that, she led him to where her memories of running the night she borrowed the TARDIS were held. 1,900 years of time and space on her own flooded his mind and he experienced them as if he were there with her. There were the usual troublemakers: Daleks and Cybermen plagued her life as often as his it seemed. Then there were creatures that he didn't know that only appeared in Pete's World. She had cared for and lost many companions along the way as well, and he was touched that she sought out alternate versions of his own companions. Why should they be deprived of time and space simply because they were in a parallel world? He was proud of her for everything she'd done. She was a hero in her own right. Somehow in that parallel world, the companion had become the Doctor, and the Doctor was the companion.

But she didn't feel much like a hero. She had abandoned her husband when he needed her the most. The guilt this caused was crushing and made her previous guilt seem like nothing. The Doctor sought it out. Like his, her guilt was also behind a barrier, which fell at his slightest touch. Carefully, painstakingly, he pulled it away and absorbed it into himself as she had done for him. And like she had done, he too lingered in her mind and sent her feelings of peace, hope, and a lot of love.

When he withdrew from her mind, they laid next to each other on their bed, letting the buzz of the lingering presence of the other in their own mind settle a bit before pulling each other close for another kiss as they began to share with their bodies the love that they shared with their minds.


	10. Epilogue: Running Home

**Here we are at the end of the story. This has been a pleasure to write, and I hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. What now follows is a little epilogue as our favorite couple in time and space ride off into the metaphorical sunset.**

**For the last time, I do not own Doctor Who! (So stop asking!)**

EPILOGUE

They picked up Clara and Danny about 15 minutes after they'd left. Unfortunately, that was enough time for the younger couple to notice their absence.

"What's the big idea leaving us here like that?!" Clara scolded. "We didn't know where you were! Next time you two decide to jettison off without us, could you at least take us back to London first?! We were about to buy airplane tickets! And I hate to fly!"

"Oh, come on, Clara, you know I'd never just leave you stranded... don't you?" the Doctor replied, duly chastised.

"I... suppose," Clara sighed. "But there's a first time for everything!"

Danny laughed and made mental note not to ever make her mad. She was downright scary! He was grateful that he was not on the receiving end of that fury.

Rose also laughed. "You should just be glad he left you on Earth and in your correct time period! You never know, with this one. Why once he..."

"That was one time! One time!"

"And I'll never ever let you forget it either!"

Clara looked back and forth between the pair. There was something different about the two of them. She scrutinized the Doctor most particularly. "Who are you, really, and what have you done with the Doctor? Running off and having a spontaneous adventure without dragging me along, participating in a playful banter, _laughing?!_"

The Doctor just shrugged. He looked good. Really good. He hadn't looked this good since... wait. Had he ever looked this good? He still looked the same. Still greying with bushy eyebrows. He still sounded the same with that rough, Scottish accent. But something about him had definitely changed. His face was brighter, and a smile now replaced the scowl that he had seemed to wear like a badge. Not just the fake smile that his Eleventh self had often plastered on his face to hide what he was really feeling, either. This was a true, genuine smile that seemed to come from within. His steps were lighter, too. She'd even say that he had a bounce in his step. Yes, indeed, the Doctor had changed again. But this time, the change was from within. What in the Multi-verse could have brought about such a change? She looked around the console room, hoping to find a clue. Her eyes rested upon Rose.

Rose, too seemed changed from the woman Clara had last seen. The Rose that Clara had met had been full of grief and sorrow and seemed to carry the weight of the Universe on her shoulders, much like the Doctor did. But the woman before her now was glowing; perfectly radiant in her happiness. Suddenly, the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. "Is there something that the two of you would like to tell us?"

"Well... Rose and I... well, you see, it's like this. Rose and I... we're... bonded."

"Huh?" Clara had no idea what he was trying to say.

"It's like we're married" Rose replied. Then she turned and smiled at her new husband. "Only better."

"You mean, you two have gone off and eloped?!" Danny laughed. "That's awesome! Congratulations!"

"It's about time!" Clara shrieked as she ran over to give both of them a hug. The truest testament to the change in the Doctor was when he did not even hesitate to hug her back.

"You know," Clara told him. "I like this new you very much. I'm glad you have her. She suits you."

"Thanks. I think so too." he replied.

* * *

The foursome continued to travel together and have many more adventures. Soon, there was not just one married couple on board the TARDIS, but two. Mr. and Mrs. Pink still continued to travel with Mr. and Mrs. Doctor for a few more years after that until the bittersweet day that Clara found out she was expecting. The TARDIS, it was decided, was no place to raise a child. So the Doctor helped them to purchase a house in London, much like he had done for the Ponds many years before. It was there that they said their goodbyes. It was a sad day for them, because the Pinks did not really want to go, and though the Doctor and Rose could and would visit for many more years to come, things would never be the same again.

That night in the TARDIS, the Doctor and his Rose held each other closely, checking off two more losses to add to the ever growing list. But this time, it was different. This time, they still had each other. There would be more companions traveling with them, of that they were sure. And one by one, each of them would break their hearts just a little as well when their time in the TARDIS was done. But they would always have each other. And this was a beautiful thing.

The years continued to move swiftly by. Before long, the entire universe knew of the pair: the Doctor and his Rose, The Storm and the Wolf, Defenders of the Universe, and Champions of Time and Space. They truly were the stuff of legends now! As they journeyed on, they did indeed pick up several companions: most of them new, and one of them old. The immortal Captain Jack Harkness joined them again for a time, but had to leave because he was slowly evolving into a giant telepathic head in a jar and wasn't able to do much running, shooting... or flirting for that matter! There hearts were broken many times over, but they still had each other. The Doctor regenerated a few more times, but still they were together: like Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, and Shiver and Shake. She had once promised him forever, and that promise was never broken!

No, they never did stop running. They never could. But now, instead of running away from something out of fear, they were running closer and closer to each other: they were running home!


End file.
